Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) Harvard University received the No. 1 spot on U.S. News & World Report's 2012 rankings of top U.S. academic research institutions, followed by Princeton University and Yale University.
The publication named Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, as the leading liberal arts college. Amherst College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, was second, followed by Swarthmore College, in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
In the new list, released today, the top three rankings in both categories were unchanged from the previous year. The magazine based its ratings on criteria such as student test scores, admissions selectivity and peer evaluations.
The U.S. News "Best Colleges" list, begun in 1983, is the "grand-daddy" of higher education rankings, which have proliferated because of the "insatiable desire of many consumers to have the 'best,'" Peter Van Buskirk , former admissions dean at Franklin & Marshall College, wrote yesterday on the magazine's website. Families should approach rankings with caution, considering them a "guide, not the gospel," he said.
"By presuming to 'score' colleges against each other, ranking lists tend to be enticing illusions that often distract students from thinking about the things that are most important to them as they contemplate their educational futures," said Van Buskirk , now an author and consultant. "You need to remain focused on the three W's: who you are, why you want to go to college, and what you hope to get out of the college experience."
Editors: Jonathan Kaufman, Stephen West
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